As Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' Tiny Desk Trends, People Wonder What Happened to Singer

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' 2009 Tiny Desk Concert has been making the rounds on TikTok and other social media platforms — more specifically, the portion in which the group performs its biggest hit to date, "Home" (about five minutes into the video). The song was written by frontman Alex Ebert and vocalist Jade Castrinos back when they met and fell in love in California, before Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros was solidified in the millennial-hipster zeitgeist as some type of Merry Prankster revival.

Many people sharing the video note that Ebert and Castrinos broke up despite the song's uplifting message about finding true love. The viral clips caused many to revisit the original Tiny Desk video, which left a big question: What the hell happened to Castrinos? Her soaring, raw vocals are the best part of this performance, but her jerky albeit enthusiastic movements (and saying "good morning" while the clock behind her is at 2:10 p.m.) sent many listeners to Reddit to find out where the singer is today and why she left (or was fired by) the band, which hasn't released new music since 2016. 

Most recently, Castrinos performed with Bob Dylan's son, Jakob Dylan, for the 2018 film Echo in the Canyon, which explores how popular folk music famously sprung from Laurel Canyon in the 1960s. She has yet to release any solo work. Ebert, meanwhile, went on to create solo music under the moniker Alexander and wrote the song "Daddy Knows Best" for SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, for which he received a Tony nomination.

Back in June 2014, Westword contributor Mary Wilson wrote the news that Castrinos was no longer part of the band before its scheduled performance in Telluride. Read what happened below: 

Why Jade Castrinos Isn't in Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

After fans questioned why Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros played a show without their frontwoman, the explanations came quickly and bitterly from both sides.

Castrinos updated her Instagram bio (she no longer is publicly on social media) to read: "For seven years i sang and wrote music with edward sharpe. they voted me off of tour a week before they left, via email. lol." She then changed it to, "don't let the bastards get you down..."

The band then released a statement on Facebook (which was promptly taken down) criticizing Jade's comment, saying that the decision was a long and drawn-out one. Here's the since-deleted note:

Anyone on here who thinks the story could be as terribly and flatly painted as Jade conveniently did has no idea what this band has always been about. It's a shame to think anyone would comment anything other than a hope that it heals. If you think we came to this decision suddenly or as some form of punishment you have no idea who we are. If you think that email to jade was not sent 30 seconds after a meeting WITH jade and the band but out of the blue- you have no idea who we are. If you don't think we spent years trying to heal this very issue as a group, together - years trying to help correct this, love this until it was right, sometimes flailing and other times sailing, but always - you have no idea who we are.

Yet if you do not know that sometimes people must be unwilling to allow a continuation of old patterns to make a change for the better - you simply have not yet lived long enough.I hope you all do not continue to speculate ignorantly.

It is beneath you and it is grotesquely damaging.

Castrinos and Ebert started the band together and spent "five years on mushrooms," as Castrinos once said in describing their duet song, "Home." The two broke up some time after the band started.

Shorty after the band's post, Ebert also posted on his own public page: "Only we must now explain that simply and sadly, we did not feel right doing this tour with Jade. That fact breaks my heart in ways I don't want to describe." That was also deleted.